Convergeance
by Enterprising Voyager
Summary: Aang was the last living Air-Nomad, and the Avatar. Ben Tennyson was the bearer of the omnitrix. They each were faced with conflicts they'd much rather avoid. Fortunately, neither of them had to do it alone. Aang-Ben Tennyson/Zuko-Kevin; Friendship/Bonding STORY IS ON HIATUS, WHILE I DO A REWRITE, KEEP WATCHING FOR UPDATES
1. Chapter 1: Reluctant Heroes

**Avatar The Last Airbender**

**and Ben-10**

"**Convergence"**

By: Enterprising Voyager

**Chapter-1: Reluctant Heroes**

(Takes Place approximately between the "Perplexahedron" and "Forge of Creation" eps. of B-10 Ultimate Alien & the "Day of Black Sun" and "Western Air Temple" eps. of ATLA)

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, the Last Airbender; nor do I own Ben-10, I do not profit from this, other than pure entertainment.

Benjamin Kirby Tennyson was sixteen years old, for the better part of the last five years, he had been fighting for people, both human and otherwise, that he didn't know, and ideals he couldn't begin to understand. Why? Because one summer, when he was ten, he went on a cross-country road trip with his Grandpa Max and cousin, Gwen; and discovered the Omnitrix, which allowed him to assume the forms and abilities of numerous extraterrestrial life-forms.

Aang, the last known living Air-Nomad, was thirteen years old, at least physically. Chronologically, he was a hundred thirteen. Spiritually, he supposed, he was actually millennia old; according to tradition he was the reincarnation of the Avatar, the being supposed to bridge the gap between the mortal and spirit realms. He couldn't bring himself to face it, when he was first told by the elders at the southern Air-Temple and ran away. This resulted in him being suspended in an iceberg for a century while a brutal war waged in his absence.

The two of them were reluctant heroes, forced into conflicts with which they'd much rather not be involved. Ben initially dealt with the burden by treating everything like it was all a game, as if not treating his responsibilities like the life and death situations that they were, made it all somehow go away. As he grew older and more mature, Ben came to accept his duties as the bearer of the Omnitrix, but he still preferred to not think about the burdens that went along with it.

Aang didn't have the luxury of growing into his role, and the burdens of being The Avatar. But as he saw what a hundred years of warfare and aggression in his absence had done to the world; He realized that he had let everyone, both in the mortal and spiritual realms down. He resolved that he would not allow himself to fail again.

Unfortunately, Aang feared that he was on the verge of failing again, he, and his friends, Katara and Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe; and Toph Bei-Fong, of the Earth Kingdom, were participating in the long awaited invasion of the Fire-Nation. They and their allies hoped that by taking advantage of a solar eclipse, they could take the enemy capitol while their forces were only at half strength. Fire-Benders, those that could manipulate fire with their minds and bodies, lost their abilities during a solar eclipse. Therefore the Fire-Nation would have to rely on non-fire-bending infantry and conventional armaments only.

At least that had been the plan, unfortunately; somehow the Fire-nation obtained knowledge of the invasion ahead of time. The Fire-lord, Ozai, was nowhere to be found, and his daughter, Azula, delayed Aang and his team long enough for the eclipse to end. Once the Fire-benders were back to full strength they quickly turned the tide. Aang and his friends got back to the beaches, and the submarines that were to be their escape just in time to see them destroyed by monstrous airships that loomed over the horizon.

Aang felt his spirits sinking, particularly when he heard Katara's father say that the youngest members of the group should go with Aang, Katara and Sokka into hiding, as long as they, and the Avatar were safe and free, there was hope. However, at the moment Aang couldn't see anything to be hopeful about.

Ben, along with Gwen and their one-time nemesis, Kevin Levin, were faced with a similar dilemma, the alien criminal and terrorist known as Aggregor had assembled nearly all the pieces of a puzzle which would show him the map to the _Forge of Creation._

According to Azmuth, the diminutive Galvan creator of the Omnitrix, and Ben's current Ultimatrix; the Forge of Creation was the source of all energy, thought and physical reality in the universe. If Aggregor were to somehow find and gain control of that, it would take a miracle of what humans would call _'Biblical proportions'_ to stop him.

Ben felt a cold and quiet dread growing in the pit of his stomach. He looked to his cousin and best friend, for support, but he could find none in their faces. Gwen and Kevin each wore expressions of fear and concern, which Ben suspected matched his own.

It didn't help to have Azmuth yelling at him for failing to beat Aggregor in reassembling the map of infinity. Even though Azmuth was only about 5 inches tall, he seemed awfully intimidating right now; even _'Mr. Tough-guy,' _Kevin took a step-back when Azmuth began his rant.

But, Kevin was nothing, if not a loyal friend. "What about all the people Ben's helped along the way," Kevin asked Azmuth. "Yeah," agreed Gwen, "we've done a lot of good, out there." "Trivialities," Azmuth said bluntly, although a little more calmly, this time. He knew how many life-forms Ben and his team had aided; most of who would not have done the same for him.

If Aang were to put a name to how he felt right now, he would have to describe it as _'a useless loser.' _As he and his friends rode on Appa, he heard them trying to make conversation, but he would not join in. They were trying to lighten the mood; though it seemed as if a permanent storm cloud hung over all of them. Aang's mood was darker than most of theirs. Given his abilities as both an air-bender and a water-bender, he felt like he could almost create a storm cloud, now. Even the normally vocal Appa and Momo were unusually quiet.

Aang's mood grew even darker, as Appa groaned, in protest. Aang knew his animal companion was getting tired, he wasn't used to carrying this much weight. The people were insignificant, as far as their weight was concerned. It was the heavy leather and bronze armor Sokka had fashioned. It protected Appa, during the invasion, now,it was a liability.

What's more nature had adapted his heavy coat to the cool air of the mountain ranges the Air Nomads once called home. The tropical heat of the Fire Nation summer was hard on him. Aang needed to do what was best for Appa, at least there was on being the Avatar wouldn't completely let down, today. Aang directed Appa down to a clearing to land, and gave an apologetic glance over his shoulder to the others. He needn't have bothered, they understood, but he still couldn't help feeling like he'd let them down, again.


	2. Chapter 2: Down But not Out

**Chapter-2:**

"**Down, But Not Out"**

The Avatar's friends tried to reason with him, Aang had to face the reality of the situation; and then, together, they all had to begin planning their next move. However, he didn't want to deal with that right now. Aang knew he'd have to face it, sooner, rather than later; but, for now he craved the luxury of just being a regular kid. Eight months ago, when he first saw what was left of his ancestral home, and discovered the remains of Monk Gyatso at the southern air-temple, Aang felt so much rage, and pain, and sadness that it triggered the Avatar State. The southern temple had been his home, the monks had been his family, and Gyatso had been like a father to him.

Now, Aang found himself in a different air-temple, and he had a new family; Sokka, Katara and Toph were his new brother and sisters. He had also begun to feel that Katara might someday become more than that. If he let himself believe that this made everything okay, Aang could try to ignore the war, and pretend that everything was the way it used to be.

He had only been to this temple once before, with Gyatso, when he was ten. According to Air-Nomad tradition, the northern and southern temples were for males, and the eastern and western temples were for females. It was not allowed for the two genders to co-mingle except for certain holy days; and if there was a betrothal, the couple in question would be allowed to live together outside the temples. None of those ancient traditions and restrictions seemed important, to Aang right now. The only thing he cared about was that this was the last monument of, and to, his people.

Aang was proud of what his people had built, and wanted to show his friends around the temple; but Toph interjected "I think that'll have to wait." Aang, Sokka and Katara looked to where Toph pointed, they only saw Aang's sky-bison, Appa. "What're we supposed to be lookin' at, Toph?" Sokka asked. "Wait for it, Snoozles, it's coming," Toph replied. As Appa lumbered away, a swirling energy vortex formed where he had been standing. Aang, Katara, and Sokka saw three vaguely human forms stepping out of the vortex. Toph could feel them through the vibrations they left in the ground and in the air. "Are those things talking?" Katara asked the others. "Yeah, I think you're right, Katara." Sokka replied.

"Tennyson," Aang and company heard a gruff male voice say, "You heard Azmuth, and he said he didn't know where the forge was, what makes you think you can find it?" A younger, slightly higher- pitched male voice replied, "I don't know that we can find it, Kev; but we've got to try." A female voice added, "Ben's right, we all know what's at stake if Aggregor gets there before we do."

Sokka and Toph were quick to issue a challenge to the swirling energy figures that were becoming solid before them. Aang held back, he wanted to size things up and learn what the heck was going on here before he acted hastily. Sokka brandished his sword and machete; while Toph earth-bended chunks of stone right out of the mountain-side, to hurl at them, if they turned out to be hostile. Katara found herself torn between taking the aggressive stance of her brother and Toph, and taking the 'let's wait and see' approach of Aang.

The first of the swirling figures to step out of the vortex was a young man wearing a green jacket; He looked as though he was approximately Sokka's age. He also had a very serious expression on his face, which didn't fit with his youthful appearance. It seemed familiar to Aang; he had seen that same expression on his own face, in a mirror, more than once. Behind the young man came a young woman, and another taller guy who was, perhaps a year, maybe two, older than the first.

As Gwen used her manna energy to guide herself, Ben, and Kevin through the various ethereal realms of the universe, she was also trying to track Aggregor. It was a losing battle; she was exhausted from their hunt for the Map of Infinity and Aggregor was too clever,and hard to find. Gwen could no longer hold herself, or her friends in their current position within this bizarre realm between what was physical and what was not. "Alright, Ben, that's it, she's gotta rest." Kevin said. Ben couldn't argue,he knew Kev was right. Ben also knew they couldn't stop. What was he to do, he and his friends were stuck here between dimensions and couldn't find their way out. Just then, Gwen changed directions and guided Ben and Kevin towards what they hoped would be a way out, or in, whichever it was. As Gwen led them forward, Ben and Kevin swore they heard voices "Are those things talking?" a female voice asked; a male voice replied, "Yeah,I think you're right, Katara."

As the Tennysons and Kevin stepped out of the Vortex they were met with the sight of a young man with blue arrow-shaped tattoos on his head and hands. Beside him were another young man dressed in blue, a similarly dressed young woman, and another young lady dressed in green. They each adopted what appeared to be a defensive stance. "Who are you people, and where did you come from" the young man with the arrow shaped tattoos asked. The shorter of the two young men stepping out of the vortex held out his hands in what he hoped was a non-threatening posture, and said "I'm Ben Tennyson, this is my cousin Gwen, and our friend, Kevin."

One of the people that met them, and was dressed vaguely like a Tibetan Buddhist monk, introduced himself and his associates. "I'm Aang; these are my friends, Toph, Katara, and her brother Sokka." The one named Sokka repeated Aang's question, "Where are you three from, one second no one but us was here, the next moment, you guys appeared out of nowhere."

"I'm not sure how we got here," the guy in the green jacket named Ben answered. "We were in the perplexehedron, but Aggregor beat us there and got the last piece of the map; we chased after him, then there was a flash of light, and we were here." "Did either of you see or feel anything weird," Ben asked Kevin and Gwen. "Nothin'," Kevin replied; "Me neither," Gwen added.

As Aang and his friends, and Ben and his friends pondered their current situation they all heard a distinctive popping sound and detected the odor of sulfur in the air. "Oh no, how'd he find us," Sokka asked and then shouted, "Everyone take cover!" The Avatar, the Tennysons, the Water-tribe siblings, Toph, and Kevin dove behind chunks of masonry that had crumbled from the walls of the ancient temple.

"I'm so sick of people shootin' at us!" Kevin barked, then he placed his hand on a piece of the rubble, and he was suddenly encased in a skin of concrete. This should have come as a surprise to Aang and his friends, but they had seen their share of strange and fantastic things on their journey. "Let me give you a lift, Kevin," Aang said, and then created a small cyclone beneath Kevin's feet which picked him up and launched him toward the assassin. "Whoa, that's different," Gwen and Ben exclaimed. "You get used to it," Toph replied with a mixture of sarcasm and dry wit. Ben twisted a dial on the device attached to his wrist, then slapped it down; instantly he became a being that resembled a dark blue, humanoid moth; "_Big Chill_," the Ben-creature hissed.

As he flew up towards the man who was seemingly shooting flames from his forehead; Ben caused himself to become intangible, the assassin's flame bursts passed through him harmlessly. He blew a freezing mist at the assassin to offset 'Combustion man's fire. Down below, Gwen created a Manna shield, and Toph created one of stone to protect the group. Aang and Katara utilized water bending to snuff out the flames. Kevin was able to maneuver himself behind 'Combustion Man' and immobilize him in a wrestling hold, then Sokka saw an opening and hurled his boomerang with all of his strength. 'Combustion Man's' forehead and the boomerang collided with bone-crunching force, and he dropped like a stone.

Kevin released his grip as the brute went down, and looked down at him scornfully. Un-expectantly, the assassin stumbled back to his feet, and tried to fire his mental flame burst again. However the boomerang hit had left him with a concussion, and he was unable to focus. The blast blew the ledge he was standing on off the cliff-side. The explosion would have taken Kevin with 'Combustion Man' but Aang lifted him away with a gust of wind, and Ben, still in his Necro-friggian form rose in to the air to catch his friend and carry him away from the crumbling cliff-side.

Kevin thanked Ben, and Aang, who asked "How did you guys learn to do all of this, you transforming into an insect-guy, your friend turning his skin to stone, and the purple shield thing that your cousin did was awesome!"

"What about you guys," Ben asked, "Where did the tornado come from; and what those two did with the rocks and the water, that was really cool."

"Hey, what about me; I did the whole boomerang thing," Sokka interjected, feigning a bruised ego. "Not now, Sokka," his sister chided him. "Katara, Toph, and I are Benders," Aang said, as if that answered Ben's question. The Avatar forgot to take into account that their visitors might not know what that meant.

When she saw a confused look on the faces of Gwen, Kevin and Ben; Katara clarified Aang's statement, "Here, there are people who control and manipulate different elements of nature, we refer to them as benders." Katara continued, "I can water-bend;" she said, and then showed them a demonstration of her abilities. "As you may have guessed, Toph is an earth-bender."

"And I'm guessin' you're an air-bender," Kevin asked Aang. "Yeah," Aang said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. Kevin, Gwen and Ben were puzzled by this, and Kevin asked, "Did I say somethin' wrong?" "Aang's the last of his people, the rest… were killed a hundred years ago," Katara told them. "That's awful," Gwen said, and gave a sympathetic glance towards the young air-bender. "How could something like that happen?" Aang gave a sad glance towards Katara, and nodded. She proceeded to tell their new friends the tale of the genocide of the Air-nomads, and the century of war that followed.

"That has to be one of the saddest stories I've ever heard," Gwen said to Aang with tears in her eyes. "Seriously, dude," Kevin agreed, "That's rough." Aang gave a smile of gratitude to his newfound friends, and asked them about their own background.

Ben explained that the device on his wrist was the Ultimatrix, a more advanced version of his original Omnitrix, and how it enabled him to transform into many different life-forms . He also told Aang and his friends about Gwen's abilities that she inherited from her and Ben's paternal grandmother, who was actually an extraterrestrial being called an Anodite. She had taken human form, and after spending some time on their world had fallen in love with their Grandpa Max. Ben went on to tell the Avatar and his friends that Kevin's powers came from his father, who was also an extraterrestrial living on Earth called an Osmosian.


	3. Chapter 3:Getting Acquainted

**Chapter-3**

**Getting Acquainted**

As the young heroes, Aang's team, and Ben's team, got to know one another; Sokka built a campfire, and Katara made preparations for a meal. "If your people were killed a hundred years ago by this _'Fire-Nation'_," Gwen asked, "How did you come to be here?" Aang replied, "After they told me that I was the Avatar, I didn't want to face it, and…" here Aang paused, and wiped away a tear. He couldn't say if it was one of shame, or sadness. "I ran away." "I was caught in a storm, and used a combination of air-bending, and water-bending to create a pocket of air and ice around me and Appa." "The next thing I knew, a century had passed, and I was waking up when these guys;" Aang paused again, and gestured towards Katara and her brother "rescued me." "So you can do more than one type of this, bending?" Ben asked Aang.

Katara answered his question, "As the Avatar, Aang is the one person in the world who is able to use all four types of bending." "He is also supposed to be the bridge between our world, and the spiritual world."

Sokka asked their guests, "So how'd you get this _omni-whatsis_," Ben replied that "Gwen and I, and our grandfather, were on a summer road-trip five years ago, when a meteorite crashed into the woods near our campsite." "I was the first one to discover the crash-site; and saw that it wasn't really a meteorite; but something made of metal." "I tried to investigate, and without warning, the capsule opened and the omnitrix launched out, and attached itself to my wrist."

"At first, it scared the crap out of me, I couldn't get it off." "The next thing that happened scared me even more. That's when I underwent my first transformation. I thought I was burning; when I realized I wasn't really hurt, but that my body had actually become made of fire, I started to understand that I found something very special, **and **very powerful." "As time went on, I discovered more and more transformations."

"That same summer," Ben continued, "Gwen started to discover her powers; it's also when we first met Kevin." "We thought he was kind of a jerk, at first." "Watch it, Tennyson," Kevin warned, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. Ben returned the smirk, and continued, "Later on, he joined our team, and became one of the best buds I've ever had."

"One of the best," Kevin asked, still smiling "I **am** the best." "Now, who's asking for it, Kevin," Ben asked. "AS IF; pee-wee," Kevin said.

Gwen said, with an exasperated, almost motherly tone, "If you two don't cut it out, I'll ask Katara to bend a lot of **very** **cold** water on both of you!" Ben and Kevin looked at her with blank expressions, and then began to laugh. Aang, Sokka and Toph also started to laugh; while Katara gave Gwen a sympathetic glance that said '_I know exactly how you feel_.' After a second or two, Gwen and Katara likewise began to laugh.

As they ate, Sokka and Toph were asking Kevin to tell them about spaceflight and what kinds of amazing alien tech he had seen out there. Sokka had long speculated about the possibility of there being other worlds and what they were like. Kevin was more than happy to oblige, he had found a kindred spirit in Sokka. The Tennysons weren't really the gear-head types; their eyes would glaze over every time he would talk about his car, or the Rustbucket III, or some interesting alien gadget or other he had come across int the course of their travels.

Ben and Aang were comparing notes on their respective roles. Ben asked Aang what it like to be the Avatar, and he in turn asked Ben what it like to wear the Omnitrix, and later the Ultimatrix. Though neither of them would admit it to their friends, it sometimes scared both of them when they thought about the awesome responsibilities that they each had, and it was comforting to to know that they weren't alone in those fears.


	4. Chapter 4: Even More Unexpected Visitors

**Chapter 4**

**Even More Unexpected**

**Visitors**

As the evening went on, the Tennysons, and Kevin were describing the nature of their mission to stop Aggregor; and what could be at stake, if they could not find a way back. Katara had an expression of fear on her face as she listened.

"And I thought Ozai was a bad guy," Sokka whispered under his breath. "Who's Ozai," Kevin asked Sokka, "That fire-king dude you told me about?"

"The Firelord," Sokka said, nodding. "He's the grandson of Sozin, the Firelord who originally started the war a hundred years ago.

"You don't have any idea how to get back to this perplexo…" Aang paused in his question, and looked towards Ben.

Ben finished the sentence, "Perplexohedron." "No," Ben said, shaking his head sadly, "Azmuth, the one who made the Ultramatrix, and maybe, Paradox; are the only ones who know how to find it."

"Well, don't forget," Kevin put in, "Aggregor does,too;" "So not helping, Kevin," Gwen told him, with a scowl. "It's alright, Gwen, I could use something to smile about," Ben said half-heartedly

Aang felt nothing but sympathy, for his new found friend, but didn't know what to do for him.

"Someone's coming," Toph piped in, she was aware of the approaching individual before anyone else, except perhaps Appa and Momo. The tentatively approaching person slowed, and then halted when he heard a young girl's voice say, "Someone's coming."

Zuko scowled, and thought angrily to himself, _'I was being so stealthy, no one could have heard me; except the Avatar's big-eared flying rat,'_ The banished prince forced himself to calm down, letting his volatile temper show would not do anything to advance his cause.

Zuko paused again, when he heard an unknown male voice exclaim, "Julie, what are you doing here, more to the point, how did you get here?" There was a noise like a dog barking, but it sounded somehow mechanical, and seemed to be forming the word,_ "_ship_"_ This seemed to answer the unknown male's question, he didn't inquire further.

How this could answer the question, Zuko didn't know; he paused once more, there were obviously more people there than just the ones he was expecting. '_And,'_ Zuko reminded himself, _'They'll be hard enough to convince.'_

Zuko took a deep breath, and found his resolve, he was a prince, in his heart, if no longer in fact. "Fire-benders have the courage, and will to achieve what they want," Zuko whispered the words of his uncle over, and over to himself, like a mantra. Then, he drew another deep breath, and stepped out where he could be seen, "Hello, Zuko here." _'You're doing the right thing'_  
the exiled prince reminded himself.

As he assumed, Zuko was met with the sight of more than just the Avatar, and the peasan-_young_ _woman_-from the Water-tribe, and her brother; the young Earth-bender girl was here, and four others who Zuko had never encountered.

'Definitely quite a few more people than I was expecting,' Zuko said to himself, under his breath.

"I uuh...guess you guys are surprised to see me," Zuko began,nervously;  
The Tennysons, had never seen anyone with such a huge burn scar on his face, and even Kevin looked a little shocked and sickened at the sight of the prince.

"Not really," Sokka retorted angrily,"Since you've followed us all over the world!"


	5. Chapter 5: Zuko tries to Explain

**Chapter 5**

**Zuko Tries to Explain,**

**and Gets Unexpected Support**

Ben looked from Aang and his friends, to the newcomer; clearly, there was some history and bad-blood, there.

"Ben," Julie whispered, "What's going on?" "I'll let you know, as soon as I figure it out," he whispered back.

"Uuh, yeah, I guess I should apologize for that," Zuko paused and inhaled deeply. "You see, I've been through a lot in the last few years; and I've come to realize I had to go through all that to learn what my destiny really was."

Katara and Sokka glared at him angrily, they were loath to believe any fire-bender, least of all **this **firebender. The look of anger on their faces shocked Kevin, and scared Ben, Julie and Gwen.

"I…uhh can also teach fire-bending, um, to you," Zuko got over his initial nervousness, drew his shoulders in and stood tall. It wasn't Zuko, the nervous teen, but Zuko the prince, looking directly at Aang.

"You wanna what now," the young woman from the Earth Kingdom asked, skeptically. Zuko noticed, for the first time that she looked in his general direction, but didn't look directly at him. In fact, Zuko noticed she didn't really look at anything, or anyone. _'Could she be blind,' _he wondered, also noticing for the first time, how pale her eyes were.

"I can teach you fire-bending, so that you will finally be able to master all four of the elements, a put an end to this war," he said to Aang. For his part, Aang's expression went from anger, to confusion.

The Tennysons, Kevin, and Julie looked on at this very curious standoff.

Zuko took a different tack, he knew if he could get the Avatar to believe he was sincere, the rest would probably fall in line. "Once, you said that we could've been friends, that I reminded you of someone named Kuzon."

Aang looked over at the Water-tribe boy holding a sword, that to Zuko, looked curiously of Fire-nation origin. The prince had never seen such lustrous black metal.

Sokka no longer had quite the angry glare of his sister, but he still didn't want to believe Zuko. He looked at Aang, and subtly shook his head.

"I wish I could believe you Zuko, but after everything you've done, I can't, unless you give me some really good proof of what you're saying."

The prince had one more card to play, he reached over and stroked the silky white fur of Appa. The giant beast didn't object, and planted a soaking wet kiss up and down Zuko's entire right side. As if this wasn't enough of a surprise to Aang, Zuko then knelt, held up his wrists, and said, "If you won't take me as an ally, maybe you'll take me as a prisoner of war."

"NO," Katara shouted, "we won't!" Sokka, and Aang knew what was coming and both yelled, "Katara, don't!"

Toph was already moving when Katara sent a torrent of water at the prince, water which quickly solidified into daggers of ice. A wall of stone sprang up between the seething water bender, and the resigned-to-his fate fire bender. "Toph," Katara bellowed, angry that her friend had ruined her one chance to rid the world of this _thing_.

"He's telling the TRUTH, sugar queen!" an equally angry earth bender bellowed back. Appa expressed his opinion by licking Zuko again.

Kevin had seen enough of this, this new player looked like he was more than capable of taking care of himself, why would he just let himself be treated like this? He stalked over to Toph's wall and placed his hand upon it; instantly his skin was surrounded in a cocoon of the same stone. He and Toph stood their ground, facing a still angry, but somewhat calmer, Katara.

"I don't claim to know what's goin' on here, but there's obviously some harsh feelins' between you and him," Kevin said in his ineloquent but sincere way. "All I know is that if Tennyson and his cousin hadn't given me a second chance; and their Grandfather hadn't trusted me enough to take me in, I wouldn't be here, now." "I might not even be alive."

Sokka had spent enough time with Kevin to think his opinion could be trusted, and said so to Aang. The Avatar, and the Water-tribe warrior also trusted Toph implicitly; her ability to determine someone's truthfulness was uncanny.

"I'm still not sure I can trust you, Zuko," Aang began, "But I do trust Toph and Sokka,and he trusts Kevin." As if to remind Aang of his omission, the giant white furred mountain rumbled. "It goes without saying that I trust you, buddy."

Katara was still angry, to her Zuko had come to personify the entire fire-nation; she also felt personally betrayed that her brother and closest friends would side against her, with him.

Aang finally got her to calm down by saying something with which she couldn't argue, "Katara, if the war is ever going to end, hatred has to end; and forgiveness and healing have to begin."

Everyone in the stone courtyard looked the young monk, particularly the four newcomers and the banished prince. They had all forgotten that even though he only looked twelve or thirteen, he had the wisdom of a thousand lifetimes.

Aang nodded to Toph, and the two of them lowered the stone wall back into the ground. It appeared to all present like it had never existed.

The young avatar hesitated for only a moment, then reached out a hand to pull the prince to his feet. "_Thank you, Avatar," _Zuko whispered to Aang with a grateful smile on his face. "You welcome," Aang said, then whispered back with a mischievious smile; _"Kuzon."_ Zuko had a blank expression on his face for a second, then Aang and his friends heard a sound they would never have imagined possible_; _Zuko laughed.

(Author's Note: I've always thought,and I'm sure many would agree with me, that there was a parallel between the stories of Kevin and Zuko. They each started off as villains, then became sympathetic anti-heroes, then finally seeing the light. It seemed appropriate that Kevin would be the one to stick up for him.)


	6. Chapter 6:A Few more Introductions

**Chapter-6**

**A Few More Introductions**

**And Then the Healing Can Begin**

Everyone in the courtyard released a breath they didn't realize they'd been holding. Then gradually, they stood around the most recent arrivals and had a million questions for them.

"Julie, how'd you get here," Ben wanted, needed to know. "Paradox came, I should say appeared at my tennis match, it really freaked the spectators out, and I'm pretty sure the official messed himself. He said you had gotten lost in something he called _'crosstime'. _He showed me how to program Ship to search through time, and space until we found you.

"Omigod, what's happened, did Aggregor reassemble the map, did he find the Forge of Creation?!" Gwen asked, in a panicked voice. "It's alright, Gwen;" Julie told her, "Professor Paradox says that where we are, time passes at a different rate than on our own world. For every day here, less than an hour passes at home; he called it _'terribly befuddling'_."

"Yup, that sounds like Paradox alright," Kevin chuckled. "Now, are you going to introduce me to your new friends, Ben?" Julie asked sweetly. "Well," said Ben softly, "Four of them are new friends, I think. I'm not sure about the fifth."

"I'm not sure that they're sure," added Gwen.

Aang was about to begin introducing Zuko to the group, even though most of them knew each other, sort of. "Before we can do that, I have to warn you and your friends," Zuko told him urgently; "There's someone out to get you, a hired bounty hunter, and assassin."

"You, mean Combustion Man," Sokka asked; "Well that's not his name, but it certainly fits."

"Don't worry, man," the tall dark haired guy, who had yet to be introduced to Zuko said, "He showed up here a little while ago; the dude's toast." Most of that statement made no sense to Zuko, but he asked, "If by that, you mean he won't be a problem anymore, I'm glad.

"Did you send him," Katara asked; everyone turned to stare at her, they were the first words she had said since her outburst. She was frightened, and humbled by what she had been about to do; and by the fact that Zuko would've just accepted it, and would have done nothing to fight back.

Zuko was torn, he was still on somewhat shaky ground here; If he just told them the truth, anger and hurt feelings could come surging back, on the part of everyone. On the other hand, if he didn't tell them, and they discovered the truth on their own, it would be much worse in the long run.

"Yes, he began hesitantly," noticing the stunned looks on the faces of his audience. "You have to understand, I hadn't seen home in three years, the only reason the Firelord, my father," he said for the benefit of the unfamiliar newcomers, "Was allowing it was because he thought I had taken you down, in Ba Sing-Se." He continued, "Azula gave credit to me, so that if you survived, I'd look like a weak fool; and Ozai wouldn't stop at merely banishing me, this time."

"I was almost sure that you did survive, I knew about your friend's spirit water. You have to understand I was desperate to go home, getting you out of the way, was the only way to make that possible." "You don't know what it's like being torn away from everything you've ever known." As soon as he said it, Zuko regretted it. They all looked toward Aang quietly saying, "Yeah, I do."

Ben and his friends watched all of this with fascination. Ben knew he had it rough, sometimes. At least, through it all, he still had the support of his parents, and Grandpa Max. He also had Uncle Frank and Aunt Natalie, Gwen and her brother, Kenny; as well as Julie and Kevin.

Katara was also watching the scene unfold, her eyes were filled with tears and she was trembling , soon she could take it no longer, she turned on her heel and ran. "Katara," Sokka yelled after his sister. Both he and Aang were about to follow, but were stopped by a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Let me go, she and I have some things to talk about," Zuko asked them quietly and they both nodded. Zuko took off after Katara. They were worried about her and welcomed the distraction of being introduced to the newest arrival, Ben's charming girlfriend, Julie, and her fascinating pet, Ship.

Appa and Momo were particularly confused by Ship, especially when he precisely mimicked Appa's shape and bulk; then instantly reduced his size a thousand fold, to become an exact replica of Momo's form.


	7. Chapter 7: Reconciliation and New Friend

**Chapter 7**

**Reconciliation and **

**New Friends Made**

"So this thing," Sokka began, "Ship." Julie said tersely, "He's not a thing, he's a living machine, and his name is Ship." "I'm not really sure he, or she, applies; more like an it," Kevin smirked, for his trouble he received two elbow jabs to the ribs; one from Ben, the other from his cousin. Sokka hated being interrupted, and continued, "He can take on any form he wants, or that you ask him to?"

"So far," Julie told him, "He can become any kind of vehicle, or a suit of armor. He's even turned himself into a ball machine, to help me practice tennis." She almost immediately wished she hadn't said that; as she was now obliged to explain the game to people who'd never heard of it.

"She's the best I've ever seen." Ben said, of his girlfriend's prowess. "Really, hotshot," Julie asked with a slight frown, "Just how many tennis games did you watch, before you started dating me?" "Dude, you are SO BUSTED, Tennyson," Kevin said sarcastically. Aang and Sokka didn't quite get all of the unfamiliar jargon. However, they recognized good natured jibes between friends when they heard them; It was nearly universal, and they laughed along.

Katara ran for a while, not even caring that she didn't know her way around the old temple, and could easily get lost within the crumbling corridors of the ancient structure. She was finally too exhausted to continue running, she stopped at a roughly chair-shaped piece of rubble, and sat down. She placed her face in her hands and sobbed. After a while she heard footsteps approaching; they were too heavy and solid to be Aang's, and she looked up, expecting to see her brother.

"Hey," Zuko said, then asked, "Mind if I join you?" She shook her head, and he sat down beside her.

"Do you remember what I told you about my mom in Ba Sing Se?" She nodded, "What I didn't tell you is what actually happened." She sat up interested. "My cousin, Lu Ten, was killed in the siege of Ba Sing-Se, since Uncle Iroh didn't have any other kids; my father asked my grandfather to pass Iroh over and make him the heir apparent." Azulon was furious, and said my father had to experience the same pain my uncle had; that of losing his first born."

Katara dried her eyes and looked up, interested. "My mother wouldn't allow it saying she'd do anything to save my life." "That night, the old firelord died of mysterious circumstances, and my father took his place." "

No one ever saw my mom again after that, and there was never an investigation as to what had happened to my grandfather."

Zuko hadn't told Katara this story to gain her forgiveness, or even her sympathy, he just wanted to let her know he understood, and that this war had left no-one un-scarred.

Katara was stunned and saddened to hear this tale; she had never believed Zuko's story that he told her in prison, until now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. Eventually she cried herself to sleep.

It had been about an hour since Zuko and Katara had disappeared into the darkened corridor, the sun was now low in the sky, and shadows were growing long. Everyone was getting hungry,and they were all exhausted after the extraordinary events of today.

Toph and Gwen simultaneously sensed the approaching pair, and said, "They're back." Zuko was carrying Katara and gently handed her to her brother. Zuko whispered, "She's probably going to be out for several more hours, at least, and she'll be hungry when she wakes." Sokka carried her off to one of the sleeping cells the monks used to use. As the only other teenaged girls present, Gwen and Julie offered to go with Sokka, to take care of the more personal aspects of preparing his sister for bed. He gave them a grateful smile. The sun was now low enough, that it was getting difficult to see, and it was becoming cold. There was a large fire pit in the center of the room, and Zuko was about to light it with fire bending, when Ben piped in, "I've got this." Zuko was perplexed, but Aang said, "You've got to see this, hotman."

Ben twisted a the dial on the Ultimatrix, and pushed it down; brilliant light surrounded him, and where five foot tall Ben once stood, was something resembling a six and a half foot tall human torch. "How's that, Zuko," Aang asked, "He doesn't just bend fire he **is fire" **Between the two of them Zuko and Ben brought warmth and light to the crumbling old temple. The bright flames pushed back the shadows that darkened the courtyard; but many of them had shadows on their hearts as they contemplated what the morning would bring.

2


	8. Chapter 8: Opposite Sides of the Coins

**Chapter 8**

**Opposite Sides**

**Of the Same Coins**

One figure stood apart from the rest of the group staring at the night sky. Aang had heard that some believed you could see the future in the stars, no matter how much he tried he couldn't see anything there, though. "Penny," Ben's voice came from behind him. " 'Scuse me?" asked Aang, at the unfamiliar phrase. "Oh, it's an expression, 'A penny for your thoughts,' it means 'What's on your mind'."

"They all seem so confident, I'm not so certain. I had a chance to end this war, twice, and I failed;" Aang told Ben. "Once, I could've stopped it before it even began, then I could've stopped it again on the day of the eclipse." "Hold on, there," Ben cut him off, "from what I understand from your friends, the one who could've stopped the war ahead of time was this guy, Roku, the Avatar before you, right?" Aang nodded, and Ben continued, "As far as what happened during the eclipse, your friend, Sokka, told us that they were ready for you, it couldn't be helped."

"I know, Ben, but I still can't help feeling like I should be doing more," after Aang said this, he asked, "Does that ever happen to you?"

"I know how strong Kevin and Gwen are, they each have special powers of their own; but I'm the one with Ultimatrix, I'm the one who's got to take point." Aang heard echoes of his own concerns as Ben spoke. "Yeah, I act cocky," Ben admitted, "Gwen would even call it arrogant; but I know, that each, and every time I go hero, if I screw up someone could die; and I'm afraid that either Gwen, or Kevin could be that someone." Ben looked over at Aang who had slumped over, asleep, Ben wrapped his green jacket around the Avatar's slender shoulders, and then he too, dozed off, with his back to Aang; as they propped each other up.

On the ledge above Aang and Ben, Zuko watched, and contemplated all of the terrible consequences that could have happened if he was successful in delivering Aang to Ozai. Zuko knew his father, Ozai wouldn't just eliminate Aang and be done with it; the Firelord would have the Avatar tortured to within an inch of his life, but not allowed to die. The boy would be nursed back to health, and the process could begin again. If Aang were to die, he'd be gone, but the Avatar would live on, in the Water-tribe; the next race in the cycle.

The ex-prince hated to think of Aang as just some prize to be had, not as a kid who was thrown into the middle of the biggest conflict in history. Zuko supposed thinking like that made it easier to do the things he'd done, recently.

A coarse voice from behind the banished prince asked, "It ain't easy, is it, man?" Zuko turned towards Kevin, "What do you mean?"

"I hated Tennyson, wanted to take him out; and I tried more than once." Zuko waited, he could tell talking about these things did not come easily to Kevin, Zuko couldn't blame him.

"Before I learned to control my powers, they nearly drove me crazy, and turned me into a monster. I blamed Ben for it, an' wanted revenge." "If I'd won any of the times we fought, I'd have killed him, and then probably Gwen and Max, too."

Zuko listened intently, Kevin's story sounded quite similar to his own inner musings. Kevin continued, "But each time, Ben held back, he and his cousin saw somethin' in me that was worth savin'." " As it turns out so did their Grandpa Max, he knew my old man, before he died, an' I guess, saw something of him, in me."

"Now, it's up to us," Kevin said. "Up to us," Zuko asked. "To help them do what they gotta do," Kevin replied. Zuko nodded, "Yes, you are right, Kevin; we've got to help them, and keep them safe, even if that means sometimes protecting them from themselves."

Kevin chuckled, "You got that right, Tennyson's got a talent for finding trouble, or it finds him."

"I've noticed much the same thing, when it comes to The Ava…,Aang," Zuko agreed.

"C'mon, man, let's go down and put the 'kids' to bed, an' then get some shut-eye, ourselves."

Zuko chuckled, and then nodded.

Zuko, and Aang; Kevin and Ben, they each were foils for the other, and opposite sides of the same coins. It was balance,and it was meant to be.

2


	9. Chapter 9 : Rude Awakenings

**Chapter-9**

**Rude Awakenings**

The next morning, everyone woke to the sound of explosions, a squadron of Fire-nation airships and war balloons had surrounded the temple and begun a bombardment.

"Can't a guy get one decent night's sleep?" Sokka and Kevin both groused. Aang was rushing towards the edge of the cliff; with a burst of wind, he slammed the storm shutters closed.

Katara and Toph were beside him in an instant, but the three of them were thrown to the floor by Zuko; he leapt and grabbed them out of the way of rocky debris falling from the ceiling.

"What's going on," Ben, who was still rubbing sleep from his eyes, shouted. "We're under attack," was Sokka's blunt answer.

Zuko yelled to Kevin and Sokka, "Get everyone out of here, I'll handle this; I think this is a family visit!"

The former prince leapt over rocky debris and went out to face their attackers. As Zuko had guessed, he was met with the sight of Azula standing on a platform atop a monstrous zeppelin.

"What're you doing here?" Zuko demanded of his sadistic sister. "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child," was her response. Zuko became aware of Aang and Sokka on his right, and Ben and Kevin on his left. "I told you to get to safety," he shouted over the roar of crumbling stones. "You're part of the team now, Zuko; we all go, or we all stand and fight," Sokka told him. Aang, Ben and Kevin nodded their agreement.

"Who is she," Kevin wanted to know, "She's Zuko's psycho freak of a sister," Sokka said, then added "no offense." "None taken," Zuko replied and then added, "you hit it pretty much right on the mark."

Azula fired bursts of blue flame from her hands, at the same time as her airship scored another hit on the temple from its massive cannons. Zuko leapt up and performed a spinning kick, as he did so a burst of flame shot out from his foot towards Azula's ship. She tried to repel Zuko's fire with her own flames, but lost her footing when a powerful blast of wind rocked her airship.

Zuko nodded his thanks to the Avatar standing beside him, on his other side; Kevin touched the floor and was encased in a skin of stone, while Ben disappeared in a flash of green light, to be replaced by a large red bat-like creature "_Jet-ray"_ the creature said. Ben soared up towards the airship, and saw, from the corner of his eye, that Aang had joined him, on board some type of glider, as his wingman. Jet-ray shot some form of energy beams from its eyes and tail which shattered the burning tar soaked projectiles that the airship was launching. At the same time, Aang continued to batter the airships with powerful blasts of air, comparable to hurricane force winds.

Sokka, riding aboard Appa, skimmed perilously close to another of the airships, and sliced through the platforms, and lifelines that the fire-bending troops were using to shoot down at the temple. By touching Sokka's sword, Kevin had absorbed its essence, and created blades of the same glossy black metal out of his own arms. Together the two of them took the airships out of the battle, one, by one. As they did so, they were afforded cover-fire by Katara, Toph, Gwen, Julie and Ship.

On top of the lead ship, Zuko faced off against Azula. She had always seemed to be a stronger fire-bender than he had; if for no other reason than that she had a vicious streak, and a killer instinct, that he lacked.

This time however, Zuko had the advantage, Aang and Ben flanked him. Aang was a virtual master of three of the four elements, and Ben, through his transformations, could manipulate all of them as well.

Individually, Azula could probably have defeated any one of them; but working together, as they were, she was outmatched. When you got right down to it, that was her Achilles' heel; she trusted no-one, and even her 'friends', Ty-Lee and Mai, only helped her because they feared her, not out of any sense of real loyalty.

She performed a reverse somersault down to one of the only other remaining airships from her fleet, saying, "We'll have to settle this, another time, _dear brother_!" Zuko knew what was about to happen, she had pulled this same ploy in that old abandoned village, back in the Earth Kingdom.

"Take cover," the prince shouted to Aang and Ben, as a burst of blue fire slammed into the tail of their airship, igniting the gasses and fuel within. With his glider, Aang was able to fly to safety, as was Ben, who was still in his Aerophibian form. For a moment, they thought Zuko wouldn't be so lucky, and they each dove after him, to assist. However, as always, Zuko was tough and resourceful; using powerful jets of fire, he propelled himself back to solid ground in the crumbling, but still intact, temple.

Immediately, _'Team Avatar'_, and _'Team Tennyson'_ began to assess their status. All were present, and accounted for; and other than a few bumps, bruises, and scrapes, there were no serious injuries.

The next order of business was to plan their next move, Azula was tenacious, and she'd only lost a single round, not the entire fight. She would be back.

Sokka hit upon the perfect solution, they could cross from their world, to the one from which the Tennysons, Kevin and Julie hailed. Ship could transform into a pan-dimensional craft large enough to hold even Appa, and they could take refuge in the alternate dimension, until just before it was time for Sozin's comet to arrive, when Aang would have to face Ozai, for their endgame.

A few hours later, in the Fire-nation capitol, Firelord Ozai was reading the bulletin that his daughter had dispatched from her airship. He read it very carefully, twice, his hungry golden eyes scrutinizing each word.

"Your plan has worked," the Firelord said to someone out of sight, behind a curtain; "The airbender brat, his friends, the Tennyson boy, and his friends; along with my pathetic son, have crossed back to your world." The curtains parted, Ben's two greatest adversaries, Vilgax and Aggregor stood there. They had followed Ben's team to this dimension, and forged an alliance with the Firelord. "With the power we gain when we have seized Tennyson's ultimatrix," began Vilgax, "And the power I shall gain when Sozin's comet arrives," Ozai added , "Our enemies will have no hope of defeating us, in either universe," Aggregor concluded.


End file.
